Qian Wanjun picked up the bowl in his hand, blew the hot air from it, and said, "What else are you going to do? If Mr. Liu insists on dividing the land, are you willing to hand over all the family property?"
"Why should the land that my family has worked so hard for for generations be handed over to others, not even Liu Heng." The head of the Qi family said with an unhappy look on his face.
Qian Wanjun took a sip of tea, took it away from his mouth and said, "From now on, do we need to make two preparations?"
As he spoke, he looked at the people present.
The head of the Qi family and the other two heads all looked at Qian Wanjun.
In Yanghewei, Qian Wanjun's family has the richest property and the most land. The only few pawnshops in the city are also opened by the Qian family. None of the three of them can compare to the Qian family.
When Yang Hewei was in the hands of the imperial court, the three families were dominated by the Qian family. Now that the king's flag has been changed at the top of the city, and the tiger-character flag has the final say in Yang Hewei, they still follow the Qian family.
"My people got news from the yamen. Datong Town sent a document reprimanding Su Naichen. This shows that the senior leaders of Tiger Character Banner are dissatisfied with Su Naichen's failure to divide the fields in Yanghewei. It can be seen that Tiger Character Banner's dissatisfaction with Su Naichen We are determined to divide the land, so we must be prepared for the land at home to be divided." Qian Wanjun said.
"Why, why do they divide my family's land? Is there any royal law?" The head of the Shi family slapped the armrest of the seat with an angry look.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, several people in the room looked at him like a fool.
Qian Wanjun couldn't help but remind him: "Brother Shi, then Liu Heng is a rebel leader. When have you ever seen a rebel talk about the king's method?"
"If the rebels followed the king's laws, they would not rebel." The head of the Qi family said angrily.
After hearing what the two people said, the head of the Shi family blushed and said awkwardly: "I just can't bear to let a group of rebels take advantage of my family's land."
"Whether you are willing or not, once the rebels forcefully divide the land, you'd better obey them. There are large households in nearby states and counties that are unwilling to divide the land. You should have heard of the consequences, so I won't say more. " Qian Wanjun reminded.
The head of the Shi family said: "Did Su County Lord allow us to talk to Liu Heng about dividing the land? As long as he can persuade Liu Heng not to divide the land, our family's land may be saved."
Unwilling to divide his land, he placed all his hopes on Su Naichen.
"Since Brother Shi believes that Su Naichen can persuade Liu Heng not to divide the land, why do you come to my place? Just stay at home and wait for news." Qian Wanjun glanced at the head of the Shi family.
The head of the Shi family showed a hint of embarrassment on his face.
Qian Wanjun continued: "You came to my home with me, not because you don't believe that Su Naichen can stop the tiger-character flag from dividing the land, and you want to ask me for an idea."
The head of the Shi family who had been talked about in his heart said nonchalantly: "If the traitors only wanted a few dozen acres, I would have given it to them with gritted teeth. But that is not the case now. They want to re-divide all the fields and give them to us." I’m afraid there aren’t even dozens of acres of farmland in there.”
"Your family has a large population, and you might be able to get hundreds of acres." The head of the Qi family interjected.
The head of the Shi family glanced at him and said with a wry smile: "Brother Qi, have you forgotten that for a family with a large population, the rebels force the family to be separated. Except for the youngest son in my family, all the other sons are already married. Once the family is divided, Family, these people will take away the family property."
The lack of imperial power in the countryside directly led to the squire and clan forces outside the county town ruling the countryside, and in many places clan rules were even greater than the law.
In order to prevent the countryside from being dominated by local gentry and clans, Liu Heng established multiple towns in the countryside of various states and counties, and forcibly divided families with large populations.
Peasants' associations were formed in each village to govern the villages, forcing the power of the gentry and clan elders to be minimized, and they could no longer continue to be the popular support among the scholarly population as before.
"When the day comes that the families are separated, not only your Shi family, but all of us here will be forcibly separated," Qian Wanjun said.
In order to ensure that the wealth is not dispersed, wealthy gentry families rarely divide their families.
After several generations of operation, each family is a big family. In many families, three or five generations live together. Even ordinary tenant families rarely choose to separate their families unless they have to.
The people sitting in the seats all looked sad.
When a family is divided, property must be divided. Even if the uncles, children, and grandchildren cannot share the family's wealth equally, they will take away their own portion, thus weakening the resources that the family leader or head of the family can control.
As the heads of the clan, the last thing they want to see is the separation of the family.
Qian Wanjun looked at the people in charge of the big families in front of him and said, "Everyone, please stop looking so sad. The most urgent task now is to divide the fields. Let everyone express their opinions. Is it better to continue to follow Su Naichen?" Hei, it’s better to accept the traitor’s share of the land.”
Originally, he was going to make a choice for these families, but the words of the head of the Shi family made him decide to leave this choice to them.
The room suddenly became quiet.
The head of the Qi family picked up a tea cup and drank tea. The heads of the Shi family and the Wang family looked down at the ground at their feet. None of the three people answered.
"Don't be silent. Silence can't solve the problem. Brother Qi, why don't you speak first?" Qian Wanjun looked at the head of the Qi family on his left.
When his name was called, the head of the Qi family had no choice but to say: "I don't want to divide the land. I believe that no one here is willing to divide the land. After all, why should I give my own land to others, but I'm worried that Su Naichen can't stop the rebels." I really can’t make up my mind about dividing the fields.”
After speaking, he glanced at Qian Wanjun.
"Brother Shi, what do you think?" Qian Wanjun did not comment on the words of the head of the Qi family, but asked the head of the Shi family on the side.
The head of the Shi family said: "Brother Qi and I have the same idea. Why should an outsider divide our property? Maybe it won't be long before the imperial court will regain Datong."
"So you don't support dividing the land?" Qian Wanjun asked.
The head of the Shi family said: "It's not that my family doesn't agree to the division of land, but you are also unwilling to divide the land. Otherwise, we wouldn't have approached Su Naichen and tried every means to prevent the traitors from dividing the land."
"Brother Wang, what about you? What's your attitude towards the land allocation?" Qian Wanjun looked at the head of the Wang family.
The head of the Wang family looked at the head of the Qi family, then at the head of the Wang family, and finally his eyes fell on Qian Wanjun and said, "I don't have any opinions. I just listen to Brother Qian."
Several people expressed their attitudes towards the land allocation.
Qian Wanjun looked at the people in front of him and said: "I know that none of you are willing to divide the land, but now the rebels are powerful. Before the imperial court regains Datong, we will still have to live under the rebels. If Su Naichen stops us If you don't want to be a traitor, I hope you can bear this tone and accept the land distribution."
"Brother Qian doesn't think Su Naichen can stop the land division?" The head of the Shi family frowned.
Unlike the other three people, his family does not have many shops outside the home, and most of the family's income relies on the fields. Once the family's fields are divided, it will be a huge loss for him.
